Werdlike

Foreword

Long before the modern Spellbook, magic demanded patience. A wielder first had to sense the character of the surrounding land, determine the Diction governing it, draw power from that land, and only then begin shaping a spell. Even accomplished wielders could spend precious moments simply determining what forms of magic the land would permit.

Decades of research at the Encyclopedium eventually produced an instrument capable of identifying these local rules with remarkable speed. Its original purpose was comparatively modest: observe the surrounding magic, measure its variations, and determine the local Diction.

The earliest practical volumes produced from this work were formally known as Codices of Diction Variance.

Few outside the Encyclopedium had the patience for that name. Among practitioners, Diction Variance became Diction Vary, and Diction Vary eventually became Dictionary.

Scholars complained. The name survived.

What began as a tool for reading the land would prove capable of far more. Successive generations of research taught the Dictionary to recognize magical words, decipher hostile spells, reclaim residual magic, and eventually facilitate rapid successive casting.

Somewhere along the way, Dictionary ceased to adequately describe what the thing had become.

Today, we simply call it a Spellbook.

I. Dictions

The Rules of the Land

Magic does not behave identically everywhere.

Every place possesses a set of local rules governing the form that magic may take. These rules are known as its Diction.

A Diction may require a spell to begin with a particular letter, end with one, contain a certain letter, or obey some other linguistic pattern. A magical word that satisfies the local Diction can be given form. Words that violate it normally fail to take shape.

These rules are not imposed by governments, scholars, or the Encyclopedium. They arise from the land itself.

Why the land expresses magic through language remains the subject of considerable study.

What is known is that Dictions are remarkably consistent within a given area and remarkably inconsistent between them. Cross a field, enter a forest, descend into a cavern, or step onto a distant shore, and the magic beneath your feet may answer to an entirely different rule.

For this reason, determining the local Diction has always been one of the first responsibilities of any magic wielder.

Reading a Diction

Before the development of the modern Spellbook, identifying a Diction was a skill unto itself. A wielder had to reach into the surrounding magic, observe how it responded, test possible structures, and gradually determine which patterns the land would accept. Experience could make the process faster, but never instantaneous.

The modern Spellbook performs this analysis continuously. Through its bond with both wielder and surrounding magic, it samples the local magical environment and presents the governing Diction in a form its wielder can immediately understand.

Field RuleCheck the active Diction before you begin casting. The cleverest spell in Werdlandia is of little use if the land refuses to let you cast it.

Diction and Spellcasting

A spell is more than a word spoken aloud. The word provides a structure through which gathered magic can be shaped. The local Diction determines which structures the surrounding magic will readily accept.

Longer or more complex words may provide greater magical potential, but only if they obey the same local rule. Even the most accomplished Werdzard must therefore continue paying attention to something as seemingly simple as a letter.

Magic is powerful. Magic is also extraordinarily particular.

Academy Overrides

The training halls of the Encyclopedium are unusual. Each hall contains a controlled magical framework capable of temporarily overriding the Diction that would naturally occur there. This allows instructors to establish predictable casting rules for lessons, examinations, and controlled combat exercises.

The Diction displayed during Academy training is therefore deliberate, not natural. Beyond the Academy, a wielder should assume that the Diction belongs to the land itself unless given good reason to believe otherwise.

The Academy's ability to manipulate local Diction should not be mistaken for the ability to ignore it. The rule has merely been replaced with another.

Diction Exceptions: Overcasting

Skilled Casters can sometimes force magic into a form that violates the active Diction. This practice is known as Overcasting.

It resembles an Academy Override, but without the same preparation or control: rather than carefully replacing the local rule, the Caster forces a temporary exception through it.

For the fuller combat implications, see II. Spellcasting & Spellbreaking → Overcasting.

II. Spellcasting & Spellbreaking

Traditional Spellcasting

Without a Spellbook, a magic wielder must draw power from the land and channel it directly through themselves. The process takes time: power must be gathered, shaped through the local Diction, and held under control until the spell is ready to take form.

The delay is a disadvantage, but traditional spellcasting is not weak. Because the wielder channels the land's magic directly, the finished spell can be raw, concentrated, and considerably more powerful than a single rapidly woven spell.

Reading Hostile Magic

A hostile spell begins leaving a magical structure long before it is complete. Your Spellbook can detect that structure and gradually decipher the word being formed.

The nearer the spell comes to completion, the clearer its word becomes—and the less unfinished magic remains available to turn against its Caster.

Spellbreaking

Identify the hostile word before the spell completes and the Spellbook can help you Spellbreak it, disrupting the structure and detonating the unfinished magic back through the cast.

The earlier a spell is broken, the more raw magic remains inside it to fuel the backlash. Waiting may reveal more letters, but it also allows more of the spell's power to settle into its intended form.

Spellbreak backlash counts as actual damage dealt for effects that depend on damage dealt, including Mana recovery and active scribed techniques, unless a technique explicitly states otherwise. Overkill creates no additional recovery; the Spellbook measures what actually reached the target.

Practical RuleBreak early for a stronger backlash; wait longer when you need more information to identify the word.

Overcasting

An Overcast occurs when a sufficiently skilled Caster deliberately forces a spell beyond the limits of the local Diction. The technique requires tremendous concentration and places unusual strain on both the Caster and the surrounding magical field.

Your own Spellweaving must still obey the active Diction. Spellbreaking is different: an Overcast must be answered with the hostile word itself, even when that word violates the local rule. The ! Spellbreak action signals the deliberate intent needed to force that interruption.

Overcast ExampleDiction: Starts with T · Hostile spell: ANNIHILATE
Enter ANNIHILATE! as your Spellbreak.

Most Casters of uncommon skill or greater are capable of Overcasting.

III. Spellweaving

The Spellbook as Conduit

A Spellbook changes the relationship between wielder and magic. Rather than requiring its wielder to personally gather and shape every measure of power, the Spellbook acts as an intermediary between wielder and land. It draws in usable magical energy, interprets the local Diction, and performs much of the delicate shaping that would otherwise demand a Caster's full concentration.

The wielder provides the words. The Spellbook handles the magic.

Spellweaving

This division of labor enables a technique impossible for ordinary spellcasters: Spellweaving.

While Spellweaving, a wielder can form one magical word after another in rapid succession. Each completed word is captured by the Spellbook, shaped according to the local Diction, and released before the next is formed.

What might require an ordinary Caster several moments of uninterrupted concentration can therefore be repeated many times within seconds. This speed is one of the Spellbook's greatest advantages. It is also one of its greatest dangers.

Spellweave Damage

Each completed word gives the Spellbook a structure through which to release the weave. Longer words provide more structure and therefore carry more force.

Base Word DamageWord damage = word length + 2.
Example: a 5-letter word begins with 7 damage before techniques, Armor, interception, or other modifiers are applied.

The Fifteen-Second Limit

Spellweaving places extraordinary strain on both Spellbook and wielder. Magical structures are formed and released faster than the surrounding field can naturally settle, and each spell leaves behind a brief resonance.

For several seconds, this heightened activity sharpens the bond between wielder and Spellbook. Sustained too long, however, those resonances begin to overlap. Words may echo after they have already been cast, intended spell structures become difficult to distinguish from lingering impressions, and unstable magic can feed back through the bond.

Modern Spellbooks therefore enforce a fifteen-second limit on sustained Spellweaving.

Numerous researchers have attempted to extend it. Sensible researchers stopped.

Drafting Phase

Spellweaving consumes and displaces magic in the wielder's immediate surroundings at an extraordinary rate. When a Spellweave ends, that activity stops abruptly and the surrounding magical field rushes inward to fill the temporary void left behind.

This returning surge is known as Backdraft.

For a brief moment, the Spellbook's bond with its wielder becomes unusually clear. Magical interference falls away, perception sharpens, and the world itself can seem to slow as the returning mana settles into place.

Werdzards are trained to use this moment deliberately. The Academy calls this period of heightened clarity the Drafting Phase.

During Drafting, a wielder can reassess the battlefield, choose a target, activate a scribed technique, use an item, or simply take as much time as necessary before beginning the next Spellweave.

Backdraft does not actually stop time. It creates a temporary state of heightened magical clarity. The distinction becomes considerably more important if someone nearby is still swinging a sword.

IV. Mana & Scribed Techniques

Residual Magic

Your Spellbook records magical words cast nearby and reclaims a portion of the residual power left behind by successful spellwork. That captured power is stored as Mana (MP).

Mana is not the source of ordinary Spellweaving. The land remains the source. Stored MP is a reserve your Spellbook can spend on techniques scribed directly into its pages.

Mana RecoveryMP gained = 30% of actual damage dealt, rounded down.
Formula: floor(actual damage dealt × 0.30)
Example: 27 actual damage dealt → 8 MP. Spellbreak backlash contributes when it occurs during the active Spellweave.

Actual DamageMana recovery and conversion effects use damage that actually lands after Armor, interception, reduction, shielding, and overkill are resolved. A defeated target cannot provide extra recovery from damage it did not have HP to receive.

Scribed Techniques

A Spellbook can sustain three scribed techniques at one time. Your Academy Spellbook begins with Heal, Shield, and DMG occupying all three available inscriptions.

During Drafting, one technique may be activated for the next Spellweave if sufficient Mana is available. Activating it commits the stored magic immediately.

Spellbook Capacity3 / 3 techniques scribed. A Spellbook cannot sustain more than three active technique inscriptions at once. Replacing one requires surrendering an existing inscription.

The diagrams below include dormant augmentation branches. The Academy has provided no compatible inscriptions for them. Your travels may.

✚

Heal15 MP · Scribed Technique

Redirects part of a Spellweave toward restoration. The weave deals half normal damage and restores HP equal to 60% of the actual damage dealt.

Heal FormulaSpellweave damage = 50% of normal damage, rounded down.
Formula: floor(base spell damage × 0.50)
HP restored = 60% of actual damage dealt, rounded down.
Formula: floor(actual damage dealt × 0.60)

Scribed Augmentations

✚HEAL

◌Glyph◇Rune

◈

Shield30 MP · Scribed Technique

Redirects part of a Spellweave into a persistent magical barrier. The weave deals half normal damage and creates Shield equal to 80% of actual damage dealt.

Shield FormulaSpellweave damage = 50% of normal damage, rounded down.
Formula: floor(base spell damage × 0.50)
Shield gained = 80% of actual damage dealt, rounded down.
Formula: floor(actual damage dealt × 0.80)
If Shield is already active when the weave begins: MP gained = 35% of actual damage dealt, rounded down.
Formula: floor(actual damage dealt × 0.35)

Scribed Augmentations

◈SHIELD

◌Glyph◇Rune

✦

DMG35 MP · Scribed Technique

Commits stored Mana to amplifying the next Spellweave rather than changing its purpose. Every qualifying hit is strengthened while normal Mana recovery remains available.

DMG FormulaSpellweave damage = 135% of normal damage, rounded down.
Formula: floor(base spell damage × 1.35)
Mana recovery remains at the normal 30% rate.

Scribed Augmentations

✦DMG

◌Glyph◇Rune

AugmentationEach technique contains three independent branches. Every branch can hold one Glyph and, only after that Glyph is present, one Rune. The colors denote families of compatible magical inscriptions rather than specific regions. Empty branches shown here are intentionally dormant.

V. Guards

Why Guards Exist

Traditional spellcasting is powerful, but it is rarely quick.

A magic wielder drawing directly from the land must first gather sufficient power, shape it through the local Diction, and maintain control while the spell develops. During that time, concentration is essential—and concentration becomes considerably more difficult when someone is attempting to hit you.

Thus, the Guard.

Guards are combatants whose role is to create the time and space a Caster needs to work. Some accomplish this with shields and armor. Others do it by relentlessly attacking anything that gets too close. The best do both.

The Guard keeps the enemy occupied while the Caster prepares something much worse.

Guarding a Caster

When a Guard places itself between an attacker and a Caster, it can intercept part of the force directed toward its charge.

Your Spellbook identifies this relationship automatically. A protected Caster is marked with a shield, while the Guard responsible for that protection is identified as GUARDING.

This does not make the Caster untouchable. It means that attacking through the Guard may be considerably less efficient than dealing with the Guard first.

A Guard's Power indicates how dangerous its own attacks are. Its Armor represents how much incoming force it can resist before damage reaches it in full.

Guard Archetypes

Guards are defined as much by what they prioritize as by what they carry. Some are built around protecting a Caster at nearly any cost; others sacrifice some protection in exchange for greater offensive pressure.

Protectors emphasize interception and armor. Sentinels favor strong protection while remaining a credible physical threat. Enforcers offer less interception but apply more direct pressure to the opposing wielder.

Names are useful shorthand, not guarantees. Inspect what is actually in front of you.

Signature Abilities

A Guard's battle card tracks the enemy phases remaining before its signature ability activates. After activation, the wind-up begins again automatically.

Sentinel · Rallying Strike3-turn wind-up. Attacks for normal Power, then restores HP to itself and its currently guarded Caster. Each receives 50% of actual HP damage dealt, rounded down. If the Caster has fallen—or the Sentinel is not the active Guard—only the Sentinel can be healed.

Enforcer · Heavy Blow3-turn wind-up. Its empowered attack deals 150% of rolled Power, rounded down.

Protector · Reinforce4-turn wind-up. The Protector skips its normal attack, rolls its Power, and grants every living ally—including itself—Shield equal to 125% of that Power, rounded down.

Enemy Shield is applied after Armor and before HP. Damage stopped by Shield is not actual HP damage and cannot contribute to Mana recovery, healing, or other conversion effects.

Interception & Armor

Academy examples use the following baseline profiles:

Protector60% interception · 25 Armor.

Sentinel50% interception · 20 Armor.

Enforcer40% interception · 15 Armor.

If multiple Guards could protect the same Caster, only the strongest applicable interception takes effect. When that Guard falls, the next valid protection can take over.

VI. Equipment & Inventory

Storage

A Werdzard can only make use of what they can actually carry.

The Academy provides apprentices with a simple field pouch for basic supplies. It is sturdy, compact, and sufficient for training, but it should not be mistaken for the only way to organize equipment in the field.

More specialized containers may be found beyond the Academy, offering different amounts or types of storage depending on their construction and intended use. Merchants, travelers, and craftspeople may also have ways to improve or replace what you carry.

A better-prepared traveler is not always the one carrying the most. Sometimes it is simply the one who brought the right thing.

Field Items

Not every useful tool belongs in a Spellbook. Field Items are consumable or carried supplies that can be used during the Drafting Phase without occupying one of the Spellbook's three scribed-technique slots.

One of the most common examples is an MP Potion, which restores stored Mana and may provide enough energy to activate a technique that would otherwise be unavailable.

Other preparations may restore health, reinforce defenses, alter magical conditions, provide temporary advantages, or serve purposes that have little to do with combat at all.

Potions are only one category. A Werdzard traveling beyond the Academy may encounter unfamiliar supplies and materials whose value is not immediately obvious. Some may prove useful for trade, modification, or even crafting.

Field NoteA Spellbook shapes magic. Your inventory handles everything else worth keeping close at hand.

VII. Field Tactics

Intent and Targeting

Left unguided, a Spellbook tends to direct hostile spellwork toward the strongest concentration of opposing magical energy—the threat it judges most significant. On a typical battlefield, that is often the Caster. This is why your earlier Academy exercises seemed to choose their targets for you.

During Drafting, deliberate thought can override that instinct. A simple act of intent is enough to designate a Focused Target, and the Spellbook will hold that focus once the Spellweave begins.

If the chosen target falls before the weave is finished, the remaining spellwork naturally seeks the next significant threat. When a Guard has been standing between you and a Caster, that usually means the weave turns back toward the Caster.

Tactical RuleUse the Drafting Phase to tell the Spellbook where your attention belongs. Once Spellweaving begins, that decision is committed until the weave ends or the target falls.

AOE Spellweaving

An AOE Spellweave divides each spell evenly among every viable enemy. The damage is spread rather than reduced by an additional penalty, allowing wide pressure at the cost of concentrating less force on any one target.

AOE DistributionDamage is spread evenly among living enemies.
Two targets receive roughly 50% each; three targets receive roughly 33.3% each.

Protection still matters. If a Caster is being guarded, the active Guard redirects its normal share of the damage intended for that Caster. The Guard does not prevent the AOE from reaching everyone else.

Damage already assigned to a target is not transferred if that hit defeats it. Later words are divided among the enemies still standing.

Tactical Judgment

The strongest spell is not always the right spell, and the nearest enemy is not always the greatest threat. A dangerous Caster may demand immediate attention, but a Guard protecting it may make direct attacks inefficient.

Sometimes removing the protector first is wiser. Sometimes weakening the entire field creates a better opportunity later.

Tactical judgment is not simply knowing what you can attack. It is deciding what you should.

VIII. Spellweave Sigils

Inscribe Sigils to augment your Spellweave.
Your Spellbook contains three Sigil Slots.

Field RuleSigils may be inscribed or removed before combat begins. Once your first Spellweave starts, your Sigils are locked for that encounter.

Welcome to the Encyclopedium

Academy Orientation

Starts with “S”

Stage Recap

Training Hall 1 Complete

Foreword

I. Dictions

The Rules of the Land

Reading a Diction

Diction and Spellcasting

Academy Overrides

Diction Exceptions: Overcasting

II. Spellcasting & Spellbreaking

Traditional Spellcasting

Reading Hostile Magic

Spellbreaking

Overcasting

III. Spellweaving

The Spellbook as Conduit

Spellweaving

Spellweave Damage

The Fifteen-Second Limit

Drafting Phase

IV. Mana & Scribed Techniques

Residual Magic

Scribed Techniques

V. Guards

Why Guards Exist

Guarding a Caster

Guard Archetypes

Signature Abilities

Interception & Armor

VI. Equipment & Inventory

Storage

Field Items

VII. Field Tactics

Intent and Targeting

AOE Spellweaving

Tactical Judgment

VIII. Spellweave Sigils